Port of Hamburg Magazin 03 - Hafen Hamburg

Hamburg – gateway to the world < News
“However, the call may not hide the fact that under the
current draught and width restrictions the CMA CGM
CHRISTOPHE COLOMB can only serve the Port of
Hamburg when it is not carrying a full load and only in
a very limited time window. The shipping companies
will not accept such restrictions permanently. That is
why it is urgently necessary to implement the planned
deepening of the Lower and Outer Elbe fairway as
quickly as possible,” he demanded. The President of the
Chamber of Commerce Hamburg, Frank Horch, pointed
out the importance of an efficient port for the whole
metropolitan region. This urgently includes the deepening
of the Lower Elbe fairway, which is also acceptable
from an ecological point of view. “The federal authorities
have planned the deepening of the fairway and the
environmental compensation measures with the greatest
of care and competence, the overall ecological situation
in the Lower Elbe region will be better, rather than
worse, after the realization. In addition, transport by
ocean vessel is the most environmentally friendly form
of goods traffic. I therefore appeal to the nature conservation
organisations not to complain reflexively but to
accompany the indispensable deepening of the fairway
in a constructive manner“.
For the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) the maiden
voyage of the CMA CGM CHRISTOPHE COLOMB is
a milestone in efficient handling of the world’s largest
container ships in the next years. “We have prepared
Foto: HHM/Michael Lindner
ourselves specifically to handle the latest generation of
large container ships with our continued investments in
our systems. With our Super-Post-Panamax bridges we
are not only able to handle the world’s largest container
ships but we can also provide higher productivity with
this improved service offer. We see the maiden voyage of
the CMA CGM CHRISTOPHE COLOMB as a leap of
faith of our customer for the speedy deepening of the
Elbe fairway. Because shipping companies like CMA
CGM, who are putting more and more large ships into
service, want to bring their cargo to Hamburg, and this
without restrictions,” emphasised HHLA board member,
Dr. Stefan Behn.
The arrival of container giants such as the CMA CGM
CHRISTOPHE COLOMB requires thorough preparation
from the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and the
harbour pilots. “We don’t leave anything to chance
when such large ships arrive,” explained the Chief
Harbourmaster, Andreas Brummermann. “For this reason
we have tested the arrivals on the simulator, together
with the harbour pilots. We have worked out all
basic parameters which are necessary to allow these ship
types to enter the Port of Hamburg safely. We are well
prepared for the arrival of these ships.” Initially, CMA
CGM will deploy the CMA CGM CHRISTOPHE
COLOMB in the Asia-Europe-Liner service “French-
Asia-Line 1” (FAL1). In the FAL1 the following ports
of call will be serviced in Asia: Port Kelang, Yantian,
Dalian, Xingang, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong,
Yantian, Port Kelang. Marsaxlokk and Khor Fakkan
will be called in easterly direction. In westerly direction,
Tangiers is also on the schedule. Then the CMA CGM
CHRISTOPHE COLOMB will change to the new – operated
jointly with Maersk Line – Far East service FAL5,
which will link Hamburg with Port Kelang, Singapore,
Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas and Port
Kelang. The container giant’s first call in the new Far-
East service FAL5 in Hamburg will take place in
October 2010. Container traffic with Asia reached a
total volume of 4.2 million containers (TEU) in 2009 in
Hamburg. “The transhipment development in the Port
of Hamburg is continuously pointing upwards. In particular
the traffic from and to Asia is developing pleasingly.
In this respect, the arrival of the CMA CGM CHRI-
STOPHE COLOMB is also a sign of economic recovery
in the Port of Hamburg,” says Jens Meier, Member of
the Management of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA).
PORT OF HAMBURG MAGAZINE 3/10
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